TO SACH100 and possible surgery

WHW
WHW Member Posts: 189
edited March 2014 in Prostate Cancer #1
Sach100, I saw your reply to another post about strictures. I see where you are in the search and discovery phases about PCa and surgery. You mention the Supra Pubic Catheter.

My surgery was two weeks ago. I traveled from Orlando to Detroit for surgery because of teh reputation of the surgeon, their published results and stats from 4500 surgeries and the fact that they USE THE SUPRA CATH AND DO NOT USE THE FOLEY.

If you look back on this forum you can see the daily posts that I detailed about my surgery and recovery. Most of them start with my name (Sonny).

Since you are close to Detroit you might want to look into the facility and the Doctor.

Hope everything works out for you,

Sonny

60 years old
PSA November 2007 3.0
PSA May 2009 6.4
Diagnosis confirmed July 9, 2009
12 Needle Biopsy = 9 clear , 3 postive
<5%, 90%, 40%
Gleason Score (3+4) 7 in all positive cores
CT Organ Scan - negative
Nuclear Bone Scan - Negative

Surgery done on September 17th by Dr. Menon, Vattikuti Urology Institute, Henry Ford Medical Center, Detroit.

Comments

  • Sach100
    Sach100 Member Posts: 4
    #2
    Vattikuti Institute
    Sonny - I was very pleased to receive your reply to my stricture comments. Actually, I have an appointment this Tuesday (Oct. 6)at Henry Ford Vattikuti Institute with Dr. Hans Strickler, who was trained with Dr. Menon and works with him now. I met with my local urologist who recommended surgery (he does the robotic type and I think is good) but he poo-pooh'ed the suprapubic cathether over the foley. I just spent ten days with the foley and found it to be very unpleasant. I was looking at the discussion boards to see if you have an update on your surgery experience. Thanks so much for responding to my post. I just found this website and have found it incredibly helpful.

    Lee (sach100)
  • Sach100
    Sach100 Member Posts: 4
    #3
    Hi Sonny, I found your
    Hi Sonny, I found your posts detailing your experiences with surgery and they were extremely helpful. Thanks so much.

    Lee (Sach 100)
  • WHW
    WHW Member Posts: 189
    #4
    Sach100 said:

    Hi Sonny, I found your
    Hi Sonny, I found your posts detailing your experiences with surgery and they were extremely helpful. Thanks so much.

    Lee (Sach 100)

    So Glad I could be of Help
    Lee,

    I am very glad that you found the posts. This site has been so helpful to me for the last three months since my diagnosis. I feel good that I am able to start giving back.

    Don't know why your doc pooh-poohed the SP. I asked one of the docs working with Dr. Menon about the case of another guy whose Uro had the same response. He said most likely it had to do with their confidence level. The SP mostly likely took them out of their comfort zone.

    The Dr in Detroit explained to me that using the SP came from a discussion with Dr. M. Dr. M. wanted to refine the surgery in such a way to lesson the complexity, improve the results and hasten and improve recovery times. Dr. M said that one of the things holding him back was that he couldn't risk the chance of having urine invade the surgical area and that even with the Foley there was that chance. Discussions continued and the idea of using the SP came out of it. About the same time a patient came to see Dr. M about surgery. When the discussion came to catheters he put a stop to the discussion saying that if he had to have a Foley he would not have the surgery. Seems he had some bad experiences in the past with caths and medical issues. Dr. M explained the new procedure that he had been developing and the use of the SP. At that point the patient told him "I will be your first, let's do it".

    That was two years ago and it is the way they have done the surgery ever since.

    I have been talking to another gentleman on another forum that has had 8 foleys in the last 10 months, for a total of 108 days. He is preparing to undergo radiation treatment because of a rising psa following his surgery. Because of urinary complications he has experienced, his Dr. told him he would need to have a cath for 2-3 months. He had been following my process and suggested to his Uro and his Rad Dr. using the SP. They conferred and agreed. He had it installed Thursday while undergoing another dilation surgery to assist his urinary problems. While he is a little stiff from the surgeries he said he can already tell that having this cath for 2-3 months will be absolutely tolerable and comfortable.

    Good luck in your search through the alternatives and Dr.s. We will pray for successful outcomes on all front.

    Blessings to you and your family,

    Sonny

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